Love is in the air, aka 5th year Hogwarts!
by Anniexxxx
Summary: not cheesy, never sleazy, and always sweet. There's an adventurous plot too, not just swash-buckling romance, so plz R&R, i would love to hear your ideas!!:):)
1. Default Chapter

Harry,  
  
You're right, things have been strange recently, or at least more so than usual. I had the feeling you might pick up on it, but you are faster than I thought. I've been meaning to tell you this for a while, I want to come see you, but it's out of the question with the ministry on full protection alert. This is a long story, but you deserve to know the truth.  
  
You were right in thinking the worst. When you overheard Snape saying the ministry had been (in Ron's words) "buggered", he was referring to something very closely connected with you, Harry. You are a very special person, as you well know, having been the only one in history to resist Voldemorts curse. As far as we knew up until now, at least. Don't suppose that someone else has resisted it (well, not directly anyway), but something happened recently that, well, shocked the ministry and the higher leagues in the wizarding world.  
  
You know that the ministry knows every person with magic inclinations. This is very important for muggle-born children, who have no ancestry to realise from. By having this knowledge, ministry chambers around the world can keep track of muggle-threatening events, and perhaps more importantly so, wizarding schools can select their students and educate them. Can you imagine an adult wizard or witch with no idea of their true potential, let loose on muggle streets? Stop imagining. It is coming very close to true.  
  
A 15 year old girl, who would be in your year had she or the ministry have known, was out with her muggle parents one day, quite recently, waiting for a train. Her younger brother, (only 4 years old) while walking along with them, fell onto the track. Within seconds, the mother and the young girl had jumped on the track to try and help the boy off, while the father went for help. The boy, quite badly hurt had his foot trapped in the track, and could not be moved. If only the girl had been taught as she should have been at Hogwarts, she would have known that an unbinding spell would have done the trick. Innocence, however, could not change the train times. They heard it well before they saw it, and apparently, muggle trains take at least a mile to come to a complete stop. The mother, weeping over her now unconscious child refused to leave the track. The girl, seeing the train approach (according to muggles nearby) screamed, and when the train was within metres of the small boy, it suddenly flew off the open track, and ran into an empty factory building opposite the platform. The destruction was massive to the surrounding area, but no-one was killed. The train was driven by 'machines', and had no passengers, transporting only materials.  
  
You may now be wondering the following. How did the ministry not recognize this girl as a witch? How did she, especially having not been taught, even come close to controlling something the size of a train? Why is this such a disaster if the ministry can just erase the memories of nearby muggles? What's this got to do with Voldemort? I told you it was a long story.  
  
This girl had no record with the ministry, even though she is most definitely a witch. Interviews with her and a close look at her life has shown no other similar evidence of magical power, but now, teamed with a wand, she is undeniably one of us. There is only one way of concealing or preventing magic existing in a fellow wizard or witch. Only a handful of wizards can achieve it, and even then, it takes power beyond what we may imagine possible. It was thought to never have been done, since fatal to the bestower. And to the victim. I'm sorry if I'm not being clear Harry, but I am quite confused myself. You see, they think it was Voldemort who did this to her, and if it was, then you're not the only baby to, erm, 'kick Voldemort butt', as Rita Skeeter so elegantly put it at a ministry of media meeting. This girl stayed alive, and broke the curse, by at the age of 15, regaining(?) her powers. In answer to the second question, no-one is quite sure how, and as to the third, even if the muggles don't know what has happened, when this gets out in the wizarding world, the ministry will be in a lot of trouble. Who else could be under this curse?  
  
I didn't want you to hear all of this through the Daily Prophet, Harry, because I know it is a big enough shock to the few who know as it is. This girl will be coming to Hogwarts, Harry. She will be joining your year, and, I suppose, catching up on only the necessities from previous years that time will allow her to. I'm not quite sure what to advise you to do Harry, this is a very serious situation, and I'm not sure how much the ministry will reveal to the general wizarding world. I'll tell you only this; remember how you felt finding out you were a wizard, and then starting school, and then finding out you had survived one of the most fatal curses in existence. Saying it wasn't easy is a slight under-statement, I think.  
  
I hope I have cleared your mind slightly, and as for the rest, your guess is as good as mine. Be careful Harry, and always remember, if you need anything, let me know immediately. This is a lot to take in. Just see how it goes, and I promise to contact you with anything else that I hear.  
  
Take Care  
  
Sirius 


	2. Harry meets her

Chapter 2  
  
None of the characters are my own etc, except Sairah (she rocks!!)  
  
"So, did you guys hear?"  
  
Ron glanced quickly up at Fred, sitting opposite him, barely visible over the mound of food placed on the table.  
  
"Hear what?" he said, curious as to whether this was just going to be another one of Fred's 'I sold twenty more joke burp creators'.  
  
"There's a new girl coming, God, where have you lot been? She has to be a first year, but no-one's got a clue why she's coming now. Lucky, if you ask me. Didn't have to sit through Snape's first "I will scare you to death before I teach you" lesson. Ha, taught him a lesson, didn't we George…"  
  
They both chuckled, as Harry looked curiously at Ron.  
  
"A new girl?" Hermione asked. "That's so odd, probably travelled for the first few months of the school year or something. I feel bad for her, imagine having to start over, 3 months into the year!"  
  
"I'd feel worse for me Hermione, if I were you!" Said Ron, irritably, "Considering I have test in exactly 35 minutes, and know bugger all about lizard taming potions, I feel it wrong for you to concern yourself with someone we haven't even met yet!"  
  
"I wondered why we were all sitting in the hall for lunch, Dumbledore must be announcing it… you know, about the new girl. And look, the sorting hats up there!" Hermione said, excitedly.  
  
"Harry did you know about this? Harry, are you ok?"….  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just that, well, I haven't received a letter from erm, snuffles, lately, do you think there's something wr…"  
  
Harry was cut off by the authoritative yet friendly twinkle of Dumbledore's presence, as he stood up to address the school.  
  
"There have been many rumours flying about recently, and considering the secretive nature of the ministry at this time, I'm positive that you all know almost exactly what is to come. We are to have a new girl…"  
  
Despite Dumbledore's comment, there were some shocked murmers, and the usuals mumbles of concern, as Fred raised his eyebrows in the direction of Ron, Harry and Hermione.  
  
"She will be arriving anytime now, and will be sorted accordingly into her chosen house. I am quite certain that you will all be subtle, and not ask too many questions of her, considering she is probably very confused herself. Ah, here she comes…"  
  
The brown doors, as if sceptical to the reaction of the room, opened slowly and uncertainly, and first came Mr Filch, looking as dastardly as ever, followed by who was apparently not a first year. The girl, standing at about 5"3, with long brown hair, and large brown eyes stepped nervously into the room. She appeared to be about 15, as she approached the middle of the room where Harry was sitting.  
  
Harry sat there in complete shock, staring, guffawed by this girl who was obviously not in first year. He looked at Hermione, whispering  
  
"Has there ever been a new girl in, well not in…"  
  
"Not that I know of," Hermione interrupted.  
  
"She's from this country, she's not foreign or anything, this her first time in a wizarding school" George said, looking as shocked as the rest of the room.  
  
As she approached the front of the room, Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling, as he nodded to the apparently shocked Miss Mcgonall to place the hat on her head. The girl, unsure of what to do stood at the bottom of the stage, as if waiting for a verdict. Prof. Mcgonall stood up, came forward, and nervously said,  
  
"Sairah Murphy?"  
  
The girl nodded, a faint and uneasy smile on her pretty face.  
  
"Step up here, this hat will, erm, sort you into your house. They are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Sit down, and the hat will decide which one you are most suited to."  
  
She stepped up, and Harry could see clearly, that although wearing a black robe, her undergarments were most definitely muggle fashions, in blue jeans, frayed and messy at the bottom, and a white polo neck jumper, clothing that he would've, had this been five years ago accepted as the norm. He couldn't help but notice her foreign appearance, Spainish? Eastern? Maybe Fred was wrong, maybe she just came from a different wizarding school. As the hat was placed on her head, harry leaned forward, an odd sensation, perhaps curiosity, wishing that she would end up in Gryffindor so he could talk to her.  
  
"hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, it's a tough one, this one." The hat said, Harry could barely hear what it was saying, but leaned forward further to ensure he did.  
  
"A kind and generous person, but headed for great things. So much power! Yet so much goodness. Courage is there, yes, definitely got some courage, and, mmmmm…."  
  
Harry was almost falling off his seat, not noticing the rest of the room were just as attentive.  
  
"Gryffindor!"  
  
He sat back, staring at the girl's face. Was that excitement, or just pure nerves? He noticed the only free seat was next to him at the table, and then, as if the reaction had been suspended, he stood to cheer along with the rest of Gryffindors members.  
  
As she walked towards him, pushing her hair behind her ears and smiling shyly, she finally reached the seat and sat down. She looked at Harry, and a grin spread across her face, and as Harry shyly smiled back, he realised things were going to be very different. 


	3. She meets Harry

None of the characters are my own, etc, except Sairah. If anyone ever gets round to reading this, I hope u like it, and hi to shar and clare, who rock!  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"I'm a what?"  
  
"A witch, Sairah!" He leaned back, suddenly cautious. "This is perhaps the wrong place to be talkin' bout this" Hagrid said, looking nervously around the hospital ward, and then back at the dark haired girl, sitting in a bed, with her mother at her side. He leaned forward again, whispering:  
  
"An' a good'un an' all, by the looks o' things!" he said quietly, but with a grin on his large yet kind face.  
  
"Mr, erm….. Hagrid" Mrs Murphy said, looking curious yet calm, "I'm not sure where this has all come from, but if it has something to do with what happened on the track today, I think you'll find the police have a perfectly simple explaination… is that what you're, well, talking about?"  
  
"O' course I am! You don't think what happened ou' there was a matter o' chance do yer? No no no, yer daughter ere is a witch, no doubt bout it, yep, a witch alrite!"  
  
"But sir, you surely know that such things don't exist!"  
  
This had gone on for a long time between her mother and this BFG type, sitting in the hospital ward for stable patients. Sairah had just sat there, in awe, not quite realising the consequences of what had happened that day. It had all been so surreal, the track, the scream, the train flying mercilessly off the track, and then the ambulances. It made her uncomfortable thinking about it. She remembered exactly what happened, and knew that when the train flew off the track, it wasn't any accident. This had never happened before, but when she stood there, her brother and her mother facing their death, something surged inside her, some uncontrollable force that made that train… do what it did. It had frightened her more than anything. Thank God Sam is ok, she kept telling herself, but what if there had been people on the train? She wasn't to know, and nearly could've killed hundreds.  
  
Things after that just got stranger and stranger. She had met with a man named Albus Dumbledore, after her mother had received a letter from her grandfather, telling her to believe what she was told.  
  
"Mom's a what?" Mother had cried, reading the letter. Gramps had thought no- one had inherited it in the family, since he wasn't…. one, but obviously he was wrong. Dad was calmer than expected, saying that we should give it a try, and after the meeting with Prof. Dumbledore, he had no choice, considering what the wand did when she held onto it.  
  
"What the… Did you see that Sylvie? Sparks flying out!"  
  
"I saw it, Jim" Mother had said, astonished.  
  
And then there was the ministry. Dumbledore had been there too, as a group of old men, wearing, well, dresses (like night gowns) had told my parents everything there was to know. If I thought things were stressful up until then, I was being naïve. Some man… wizard called Voldemort had cast a spell on me, and I had survived?  
  
"Rubbish, our daughter has had a well-protected and normal childhood, and nothing of that sort. My word! Dark arts and cauldron capers! I don't think so."  
  
"Jim, I think we should listen to what they say."  
  
"But sylvie, you can't actually…"  
  
"Jim. Now, now. We've seen enough proof to trust these people. So, just give it a chance."  
  
Things had progressed. More and more proof was coming up, and I don't think my parents will ever look at the joke magic shop on Satgoff street in the same way again. They kept asking me, "so, is she a mulleg?"  
  
"Muggles! Mom, dad! It's a muggle. It means someone who isn't magic, like you two. Not that you're not magic, you know what I mean!"  
  
They got really interested, and started reading all the magic books, like "Hogwarts: A History" and then they visited the school. They're still stressed out, but, in a way, I think they have always had some faith that something exists, beyond. They're both writers, you know, brilliant imaginations, and they're both open-minded. I guess I was lucky.  
  
No, I take that back. Walking into that room, on that first day did not make me feel lucky in any way, shape or form. Even the teacher looked scared of me, I can't remember her name, Mcgonner? Something like that. That hat!! Bugger me. Talk about putting the spotlight on Sairah!  
  
It kept whispering things to me.  
  
"You're a bit too old for this, I can tell, don't worry, I'm a bit too old for this as well!" and  
  
"Not slytherin, I don't think, because, well, y'know!"  
  
And then, lovely as it was, it screamed Gryffindor right down my ear, no warning, nothing, zilch!! And didn't I feel like an idiot, jeans and a polo neck with everyone wearing school uniform!  
  
I looked down at a table, and somehow knew it was the one I had to sit at. I could see a free space, next to a boy who looked about my age. He didn't clap immediately, but that wasn't what made me notice him. Something, who knows, something just made me think he was special. Maybe it was his eyes, big and green. Or his face, or his manner, I couldn't put my finger on it. All I knew was that I felt relieved when he finally stood up and clapped with the rest  
  
And so I sat next to him, took a deep breath in to kill my butterflies, and grinned my friendliest grin, as our eyes met and he smiled back. In muggle land, the word phwooar would be appropriate, but here I think I'll stick to… just a friendly… 


	4. You don't know potter?

None of the characters are my own, etc. and I'd like to acknowledge some v. gr8 ppl (I sound like I'm winning an oscar, but oh wel)!! Shar (future author extroadinare!) and Clare (physics just wouldn't be the same without u, keep rallying against the hate!) and Laura (none-conformist, I say no more) and Beth (mwah mwah), u r my favourite reviewists (No "Only" jokes, thank u v. much), Beth, Tree and Siobhan 4 puttin up with me an Shar talking about Harry Potter continually (u guys r all sooooooo cool), and JK Rowling 4, well, y'know!! Chapter 4, here we come….. (Drum roll, excited murmers etc.)  
  
Chapter 4  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Hi", Harry replied, suddenly conscious of the spaghetti he had just eaten, and how much had ended up around his mouth rather than in it.  
  
"Sairah? Hi, I'm Hermione, and this is Ron."  
  
Sairah looked across the table and found herself facing a boy and girl that also looked her age, the girl with shapely brown eyes and thick brown hair, with the boy next to her with striking red hair and a sincere face.  
  
"Hello, are you in fifth year?" Sairah asked, smiling and hoping that they would be. As she said it she glanced over at the boy next to her, including him in the awaited response.  
  
"This is Harry by the way, and yes, we are. You are too? (Sairah nodded) Great, we can show you round and all that." Hermione added, smiling to herself. This girl seemed perfectly normal, and perfectly friendly as well.  
  
"So, which school did you come from?" Ron asked, thinking that this wasn't too pressing, Dumbledore didn't say they couldn't ask little questions. Expecting a nervous and secretive reaction, he was surprised when Sairah gave a confident smile, and said the following:  
  
"You wouldn't know it. It was a…. muggle school. You see, I didn't know I was a witch until quite recently." She looked round at Harry and the then the others, realising they looked quite surprised.  
  
"You didn't know? How come?" Hermione gave Ron a warning "Stop being so nosy, you heard what Dumbledore said" glance, at which Sairah said:  
  
"Don't worry, I don't mind people asking, I just wish I could tell you more. I don't know why I didn't know (if that makes any sense). I'm not sure anyone else knows either. Have u all, well, did you all live as, I mean, I was told that some of the students have… entirely magic families."  
  
"That's me" Ron said, smiling with pride as he explained how both his brothers and his father were important members of the magic circle.  
  
"Both my parents are muggles" Hermione said, "but they are brilliant when it comes to this magic stuff. They're dead helpful. They're both dentists."  
  
"And Potter here" Fred Weasley intervened with a quick wink "needs no introduction".  
  
"Who's Potter?" Sairah said, not realising how loud she'd said it, and completely realising how red she went when the whole table turned to look at her, astonished.  
  
She glanced round at Harry, and saw him smiling, and also going red.  
  
"My name is Harry Potter, Potter is my sur…" harry was cut off by Ron's flabbergasted words.  
  
"You haven't heard of Harry Potter? Ruddy hell…"  
  
"Should I have?" she looked inquisitively at Harry, expecting that he was some famous wizards son or something, and feeling very stupid for not knowing.  
  
Harry on the other hand felt a strange sensation of comfort. Ever since he had come to hogwarts, people had instantly recognised him as the infamous Harry Potter. The Dursleys excluded, here was one person who had no comprhension of his legendry tale (as it was so called), and it offered some light relief.  
  
"Don't worry, It's not that big a deal, it's just that, well, never mind, we can tell you erm, later." Harry felt further relief when she didn't question him further.  
  
As hermione started asking her questions about how she would fix her timetable, Harry and Ron listened curiously, until they had finished eating.  
  
When the plates disappeared, Harry gave her a lopsided smile, and she smiled back thinking that nothing, not even plates that magically cleaned themselves away could surprise her from now on. As they left the hall, Sairah and Hermione joking together about Wizadora, Harry suddenly felt something crash into him from in front, his attentions previously on Ron standing next to him. As he sat on the floor, Sairah almost on top of him, he looked up and saw Peeves, not looking so white anymore compared to Sairahs face. Hermione and Ron helped them up, while Sairah looked on astonished at this sight of a poltergeist, floating nonchalantly in the halls.  
  
"I'm so sorry I banged into you Harry, it's just…. A ghost! Bugger me" She shook her head as Peeves went flying away, giggling heartily, and congratulating himself on his successful "Boo!". After a stunned silence, Ron broke it with:  
  
"I haven't known you that long, but I'm positive that one day you'll find that funny" bursting into fits of laughter, soon followed by Harry rubbing his backside in mock pain, and hermione giggling, a comforting arm around Sairah.  
  
"God, I really hope so" Sairah said smiling at the others with a roll of her eyes.  
  
"Trust me," Ron said, wiping his eyes, "You haven't seen anything yet!" 


End file.
